The present invention relates to a sport training equipment, and more particularly to a baseball training device adopted for teaching players correct striking force and movement.
It is a common knowledge that one of the most important skills for a baseball player is an eye and hand coordination and the ability to strike a ball at a precise place, so called "soft spot", to carry the ball to a desired distance. Various teaching devices have been known for training beginner players, some of the teaching tools including a vertically mounted upright standard with a ball tethered to the standard on either a solid support arm or a flexible tether string.
The devices that utilize a rigid support arm hold a baseball in a fixed position, allowing the arm to rotate about the standard following a strike by a player. The devices that use a tether line allow the ball to freely spin about the standard and come to rest under gravity. The ball in a flexible tether system is usually suspended from a horizontal arm extending from the upright standard and offers virtually no resistance to a striking force exerted by the player. Such systems do not allow a player to develop the necessary skills to apply just the correct amount of force to strike the ball. As a result, it is difficult to teach the player the correct amount of force that needs to be applied to hit a ball that moves at a considerable speed toward the player.
The present invention contemplates elimination of drawbacks associated with the prior art and provision of a baseball teaching device which teaches hand and eye coordination to beginner players, with particular emphasis on developing skills that would allow a player to exert the necessary amount of force for striking a ball.